Morning has broken...

... like the first morning

Ice, wood, and furnace

My breaking ice for the last two weeks has resulted in piles of "ice pucks" near each coop in the yard.  I'm ready for a few of the piles to melt away in the comparitively sweltering highs in the 50s for the next ten days. I don't know how other people manage water for their chickens in cold weather, but heated waterers aren't feasible, so, depending on the severity of the cold, I haul water four (or more) times a day.

 I am grateful that these chickens seem to suffer less frostbite than our turkens.  I think this improvement is a result of both breed and superior coop construction.  James is definitely stepping up his game with each coop.

In addition to chicken chores, I've been streamlining my wood hauling.  Our wood burning stove insert is in the basement, so our wood piles are under the deck.  The challenge is, however, to sort the wood.  Our upstairs fireplace can fit quite long logs, but the stove is significantly smaller.  While I'm loading my wood cart, I find myself creating a new wood pile of logs that won't fit downstairs.  I'm interested to see how much would was usable, especially since we rarely use the upper fireplace.

Oddly enough, in between the original draft of this post and the finishing of it, our electric heat pump failed.  Funny the things I learned about my AC/furnace when it stopped working.  The wood hauling served me well, as the primary heat to the house for 48 hours has been the stove.  I've done pretty well, if I do say so myself, but the new furnace, to be in place tomorrow, will be welcome for bedroom heat!

Some part of me would love to not have a furnace, but the reality is this: I can't chop wood right now.  When I'm pregnant or caring for a newborn, I can't haul enough wood.  We need the AC in the summer, as our house is not built to circulate air efficiently.  Still, this was a worthwhile experience in knowing that I can heat the house in a "disaster" with very little interruption to our lives.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Winter Storm Preparation

When threats of heavy snow/ice/rain are in the forecast, winter storm preparations take place here at Yahweh Jireh Acres.  Our first thought and last thought are about water: water for animals, water for us to drink, water for washing.  You see, we have well water, so if the power goes out, the water stops.  We filter our drinking water through a Berkey filter, give the animals water straight from the well, and have a softener in the house since heavy minerals destroy our plumbing.

Yesterday and today, I filled water storage containers.  We're checking for dirty dishes, and I'll run three loads of laundry before I sleep, just in case.  Ten years ago, at this time of year, we had an ice storm of epic proportions, such that sme of my students (I was single and teaching) were without power for a week.  We might make it a week on current water storage; I prefer not to find out.

There are plenty of mundane tasks that occupy my in between thoughts, like emptying garbage cans, making sure tools and containers are put away as they will disappear under the snow, and charging the DVD player.  I've plotted out where we would spread mattresses, if I have enough disposable dishes to keep us a few days, and what sewing projects I can do by hand.

The other major consideration for power loss is heat.  We fortunately have a wood burning stove insert in our downstairs fireplace, so the wood is stacked and ready to work for us.

It's time to switch out the laundry and convince the kids to sleep.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

December Snow

On my way to do morning chores...

Double Yolker!

Giant egg.  Our bets were that it would be our first double yolker

Sure enough, it was!

I love the adventure of hunting for eggs each day, brown, white, olive, and blue.  Our two of our pullets from our fall batch have started laying white eggs.  Hurrah!

And, if you follow the news about Toeless, she never was incorporated into another coop.  She puts herself up in a dog igloo every night, and we slide a glass window across it for safety.  James calls her Princess and feeds her by hand.  I think we just acquired a pet.  (I'll take it.  She's almost zero maintenance, and she's less annoying to me than a cat or dog.)

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Friday after Thanksgiving

Yesterday, we spent a splendid day with neighbors and enjoyed our own turkey (fried), mashed Purgatory Ranch potatoes, homemade biscuits and home canned peaches (along with fabulous contributions from our neighbors).  Later in the day, my sister's family joined us.  While we love being with family, I cannot remember a calmer Thanksgiving.  It was beautiful to stay at home the entire day, let the kids run around everywhere, and not need to unpack.  We are grateful beyond measure for God's goodness to us in the past year.

Today, in the vein of being countercultural, James and a friend chopped instead of shopped.  Our Turkens, the original chicken flock at Yahweh Jireh acres, never proved to be a viable layer flock.  They laid well for a few weeks this summer, then quickly fell off.  For the last four to five weeks, we haven't gotten a single egg.  They are expensive to feed through the winter for so little yield, so the eleven hens were butchered today and are already nearly frozen in the freezer.  One rooster is left, and we are hoping to incorporate him into our freedom ranger flock, so maybe Darkest Winter and Soup will not try to kill Toeless when she joins their coop.

I definitely enjoyed spending the day with friends we rarely see, and am grateful to have one more task complete for James before hard winter hits.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Evening Chores